History Of The Juvenile Justice System

1379 Words6 Pages
The Juvenile Justice system has changed over time. The system continues to evolve with many policy changes taking place. The Juvenile Court Act was passed on July 1, 1989 and the way that juveniles are handled has changed tremendously. Juveniles were once placed inside institutions, the House of Refuge, and other reform schools in order to determine if they would have a positive impact on the juvenile in helping them to make better decisions. Removing children from their homes and environment is what policy makers thought would impact the children, but their assumptions were inaccurate. Policy makers thought that the children’s home and environment were the reason that they resorted to crimes. However, there are other factors that contribute…show more content…
However, policies have improved in how juveniles are handled in today’s juvenile justice system. Native American children were removed from their homes and placed in residential schools in the nineteenth and twentieth century. There were agreements with Native American tribes and Congress in which a Civilization Fund was created. The Carlisle Industrial Training boarding school was opened in 1879, which was an off-reservation boarding school for Native American children. The Carlisle Industrial Training school became the model school for the additional boarding schools that were opened off the reservation. Thomas Jefferson Morgan was the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and he thought that the removal of Native American children from their homes would be a more beneficial way to avoid delinquency in children. The residential boarding schools would provide traditional and vocational education courses, as well as English speaking education. Thomas Jefferson Morgan believed that this would be more useful for the Native American children and their upbringing. There were parents who were against their children being placed in the off-reservation boarding schools. They refused to…show more content…
Serious violent juveniles should be removed from their homes and institutionalized. This is a get tough strategy that may acquire the attention of the juveniles and cause them to want to make a change in their lives. There are proposals being made about serious violent juveniles and the best solution on how to deal with them. Youth detention centers are being used across the United States to house juveniles who are serious violent juveniles and need extra attention. Youth detention centers are facilities that punish juveniles but they also offer them rehabilitative programs while housed in the facility. These facilities remove the juvenile from their normal environment which includes their family and friends, which gives them a chance to change their thinking strategy. The use of youth detention centers are in full effect in the State of Georgia and the policy has been passed. In the State of Georgia, the policy has been passed where juveniles may be charged as an adult and transferred to the adult system based on the crime committed. Transferring the juvenile to the adult system is also a type of removal because the child may be sentenced to incarceration for a lengthy amount of time which removes them from their family environment as well as the community that they live
Open Document